Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:05:00

The smoke was getting a lot thicker - visibility was down to under a meter. But the sounds around Etain made it clear that the other partiers - trapped like rats - were doing nothing more productive than raging or crying. The elves ignored them.

"Water's the best thing for it," Costello said, pulling a bottle from belt. "If ye can git her to snort this and then blow fer all she's worth, it'll help some."

Behind her, Costigan had grabbed some ropes lowered by someone from above and was doing something with them.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:05:25

Etain nodded gratefully as she took the bottle from Costello and carefully started to try to rinse away the mess that had become Tuesday’s cherubic face. Her own face was starting to itch where spots of Harold’s blood had dried. She quickly returned her attention to the girl before her so that she didn’t have to think about that horrifying nightmare again.

She handed the bottle over to Tuesday, encouraging her to do as Costello had suggested, sniffing the water into her nose to wash out the extremely potent pepper spray. When she finally managed to do so, a free hand wrapped around Etain’s wrist and gave her a reassuring squeeze, her own silent “thank you” of sorts. Etain leaned back in and kissed the girl’s damp cheek, her lips feeling the slightest beginnings of the slow burn from traces of the pepper spray. She reluctantly pulled back, disengaging her wrist from Tuesday’s grip as she rose to her feet and finally slipped on the jacket in it’s entirety. She made no attempt to button it, but pulled it tight around her.

“I’m ready.”

In truth she wasn’t, she was dreading what would happen next. She knew that if Costello and Costigan were successful in getting her back home, there would be no future opportunities to get back to Seattle. Her future looked rather bleak indeed. By now, she’d completely blown any chance that she had for a deal with the group in the AGS, and more importantly… most importantly, she wouldn’t get to see her brother again. Her lower lip trembled and she tried to keep her emotions in check, however not before a single tear slipped down her cheek.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:05:35

"No, wait." Tuesday was scrabbling at the elf girl's bare ankle. Etain squatted back down, and the girl with the purple Afro raised herself to eye-level. "I'm so sorry I got you arrested. I'm sooo sorry. I don't know what happened - these parties are protected, the fix is in. But I'll find you. My daddy's lawyers will bail you out. Just hang tight and don't say anything, okay," she snuffled. She coughed and more phlegm shot out of her nose. "We'll make sure you find your brother."

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:05:45

A soft smile touched her lips at Tuesday’s heartfelt and emotional ovation. The sentiment was touching really, but the girl didn’t quite get what was happening here. Probably better that way in the end.

“It s’all right love, I’ll be dandy. Thank ye though for the offer, but take care of yerself first.”

She took a half step back and raised her hand slightly in an almost frozen wave before she had to turn her back on the girl and face those that would spirit her away. When she looked back she could see the elaborate mass of ropes that dangled from the skylight.

“Bleedin’ Christ, what happened to me walking out the front door?”

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:07:00

"Apologies, Mistress. The locals do NOT have the situation under control down there," Costello answered, and his tone said he'd like to expand further on that topic were he not on the clock. "This way'll be much safer."

In an instant, Etain was securely strapped in - she didn't even have to hold on, although the ropes chafed her bare thighs. Costigan simply said, "First one up," into the air, and she was hauled straight through the skylight and into three pairs of Nomex gloves. They lifted her onto the roof of the building, and she saw that they belonged to an ork and two humans in paramilitary uniforms emblazoned boldly in several places with LS-HRT. There was a police-looking corporate logo equally prominent on all their gear.

The two adepts did not wait to be pulled up, they simply climbed the ropes easy as you please. They fell into place on either side of their charge, and Costello simply said, "We've got her," as he ushered her toward the edge of the building.

"Oh, by your leave, my prince," sneered one of the policemen, but he elves said nothing.

At the lip of the roof, Etain saw a veritable sea of blue and red lights flashing atop vehicles. There must have been hundreds of police here. Was it all for her? All around they scurried about like ants - if ants took prisoners...nude or semi-nude youth, many still with foamy bubbles in their hair, were being hauled out of the building and processed - some kicking and screaming, others bawling and crying for their mothers, one or two conducting themselves with a slight bit of composure.

There was stairway running up the side of the building, and they headed down.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:15:00

Etain's minders escorted her down the stairs and through the sea of vehicles, snickers or baleful stares from the cops following them the whole way.

Outside the perimeter of obvious police vehicles, there was a black Saab four-door. As they approached, so did three police officers. Two wore fatigues, and one of them carried Etain's bag. The third was in a dressier uniform with lots of insignia. "Here's your runaway's bag. Care to check the contents?"

Costello took his time thinking about it, then finally shook his head "no."

"Will there be anything else, then?" asked the top cop.

"Yes - we'll need two cars to escort us to the hotel. We're not worried about an danger per se, but if the lass gives us any more trouble, we'll need someone to make sure we're not interfered with."

"As you wish. We certainly wouldn't want there to be any interfering."

Costello smirked - it was obvious the human annoyed him. "Just git us the cars, Captain. And if ye've a problem with that, I suggest ye take it up with Mr. Loudon. Yore orders ta assist unconditionally did come directly from himself, and do correct me if I'm wrong."

The captain's voice was cold. "You'll have your two cars, and anything else you need."

"Much obliged, then."

And with that, Costigan got into the driver's seat, while Costello got into the back with Etain. Within moments they were on their way, a Lone Star patrol car leading and following. "The hotel's just a few minutes away, Mistress."

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:15:50

Etain struggled to take in the entire scene as she was escorted through the sea of young adults that had been brought outside for “processing” or “questioning” and the throngs of police that encircled the building. The strobing red and blue lights made her head ache something fierce, and the snickers, glares and even pointing of fingers didn’t help her confidence at that moment.

As she was led to the Saab she had faltered in her step just slightly as the realities of the situation were setting in. Her fight-or-flight response was desperately trying to get her to act, to do something before she was spirited away. When the police officers approached with a familiar looking bag there was some sense of relief but she bit hard on her lip to try to quell the urge to try to grab for it and run again. To do it would be near suicide.

She stared at the ground or blankly into the crowds and pulled the jacket tighter around her as she could feel the stares of all the people around her. Some were filled with anger, some were filled with contempt and a few were filled with a little too much “appreciation” for her own tastes. Still in awe of the police presence, her eyes moved across the half-circle of cars that were quickly filling up with partygoers. And her breath caught in her throat. There, being placed into one of the cars in the middle was BlueEyes himself. As if he knew she was watching him he looked up and right at her. A pained smile crossed his lips for an instant before the large hand of a Troll in an LS jumpsuit pushed him roughly into the car and slammed the door.

She was barely paying attention to the back and forth between Costello and the Seattle cops. The annoyance and apathy however was tangible. She did pick up on the name “Mr. Loudon” being tossed about when the Capitan made some smartass remark and was summarily reigned back in by a single name of a man who obviously held some type of power over him.

Soon she was settled in the back of the Saab, Costello beside her and her bag to the other side of him far from her reach. With a heavy sigh she leaned her head against the door frame, the blacked out windows hiding her within the cabin as the Saab began to pull away from the chaos. She was drained, not even the Nova high was enough to keep her spirits up now, the emotional baggage was just too great to overcome. It was almost like the rapid-cycling of a manic depressive. She closed her eyes for a moment before she replied to Costello’s hotel comment.

“The hotel? We’re not going home?” She paused as she tried to make sense of the change of events, she had been so convinced they would be headed immediately for the airport. Before either of the men could reply, she opened her eyes and looked towards her bag.

“Can I at least put on something beside my knickers and make sure me things are there Costello? I’ll even let you pull everything out piece by piece so ye know there’s nothing in there t’harm ye.”

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:16:20

His gas mask and goggles off, Costello's face made it clear that Etain's request had put him very ill at ease.

"Well, I am not concerned about harm to meself, Mistress. As angry as ye are, I do not believe ye would hurt us. But I do worry that ye'll git up to more mischief, and force Mr. Costigan and I to do something we'd very much regret. Not to mention the dozens of injuries your little fracas at the airport caused - I'll admit I'm concerned about that sort of thing as well. And it's fer precisely those reasons that yer father himself ordered us not to take eyes off you for any reason once we'd brought you to heel. Not for any reason, Mistress, if ye take my meanin'." At this point, the older elf's face was beet-red.

"That said," he continued, reaching for her bag and putting it on his lap, as if contemplating what to do with it, "I am a reckless feller by nature. So if ye'll give me yer word of honor - on the life o' yer brother - that ye'll not try anything whilst dressing yerself - or, for that matter, at any other time that Mr. Costigan and myself may be inclined for reasons of gentlemanly propriety to relax the rules regarding our constant vigilance, then ye may have yer clothes and a moment o' privacy as well."

He hadn't said anything about the hotel.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:16:32

She sighed heavily as the elder Elf began his song and dance about what her father had instructed them to do. It was just a taste of what was to come once she was returned under his thumb for certain. She half seriously wondered if on the rest of the trip back to the Tir if she’d be blindfolded and restrained as to not be a magical threat to the team delivering her back to her father’s hands.

A smirk actually pulled at the corners of her mouth when Costello flushed a little bit with embarrassment and discomfort at his appointed task. She got his meaning loud and clear, she wasn’t to be left alone without at least a pair of eyes on her for likely the rest of her life. Her smirk grew with even a soft breath of air that might have passed as a laugh as she mused if this meant they’d be wiping her arse too while they were all stuck together.

“Oh for the love of Mary Costello, away and shite! What am I going to t’do while I’m getting meself presentable? Try to strangle ye with me shirt?” She was annoyed and a little insulted. Everyone was so convinced that they either knew what was best for her, or were unwavering in their loyalty to her family that no one took the time to ask her what she wanted, or even needed right now. No one bothered to be there for her, they just left her to rot and be alone with her thoughts, as dark as they became after what happened. They didn’t seem to understand they were only complicating the situation and making it worse, not solving it.

She bit back down on her lower lip as she tried to push away the memories back into a dark corner of her mind, to not think about what had happened back at the warehouse to Harold, to try to forget just how good it felt when she kissed away the powder from BlueEyes’ lips… and how much she wanted to feel that again right now… She sighed again when he made no move to give her anything from her bag until she swore.

“I swear on the life of me brother, I shan’t try anything dodgy while I dress meself Costello. There should be a pair of trousers and a vest that I can slip on in there.”

The fact that he hadn’t mentioned the hotel again wasn’t lost on her. While she waited for Costello to fish out her clothes, she leaned back against the window and watched unfamiliar scenery go by.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:55:00

Once Etain had pulled on the slacks and vest, the ride was uneventful. Costigan drove smoothly, following their Lone Star escort to the Warwick downtown - an obviously five-star hotel amid a jungle of shimmering glass an steel. The two Coz' brushed off fawning attempts by the staff to help with their bags - the adepts each had a heavy black duffel in the trunk, and Costigan carried Etain's bag as well.

The staff made every effort to ignore the elves' combat-ready appearance, although they attracted many stares from guests in the opulent lobby.

They took the express elevator to the hotel's top floor, which was split between four penthouse suites. Their's was the northeast - whether by design or happenstance, it was the one facing the Tir.

Once in the room, Costigan began fiddling with the wall-size telecom unit.

Costigan asked - "Is there anything you need to make you more comfortable before we put the call through to your father."

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:55:10

Etain’s mouth went dry at the prospect of having to call her father at that very moment, to have him see her in the state that she was in. A sinking feeling was growing in her stomach as her mind spun trying to find the right words that she would say to his disappointment and likely the anger as well.

“Just a glass of water, please.” Her voice was meek, soft and even a little lost.

Costello was quick to attend to his charge and she soon had a glass of pure, well-filtered ice water in her hands. In reality she wished it was a tall glass of whiskey to calm her nerves, but the cool water did soothe her dry mouth, at least temporarily. Taking a deep breath she gave a slight nod to Costigan and soon the stern face of Liam O’Neill filled the telecom’s screen.

Swallowing hard, her fingers tightening around the glass of water she locked eyes with the digital version of the man that filled the wall.

“Father.”

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:55:15

"Etain," her father acknowledged. He was in his study, alone as far as she could see. His voice was hard, but a quiver in his lip betrayed great effort at controlling whatever emotions he might be feeling.

His eyes were filled with sadness.

"Mr. Costello informs me that when they found you, you were under the influence of illegal drugs, both narcotics and stimulants, and that these...chemicals remain in your system, in your mind. They urged me to delay this conversation...but I could not bear it. So tell me now, daughter, are you fit to discuss weighty matters? For such is my intention."

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:55:19

She nodded slowly, the sadness and disappointment in her father’s eyes was painful for her to witness. It seemed amplified as his face loomed large in perfect telecom detail on the wall. What weighty matters could he possibly have to discuss with her? The answers should all be simple, his men had control of his daughter, she just needed to detox and then be put on a flight home for whatever punishment was to come.

“Yes, father.” She managed to squeak out before taking another long sip of her ice water, her thirst was becoming unquenchable.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:55:25

"So you're...you're all right? Mr. Costello reported no apparent injuries but is concerned about your physical condition. And...is that...is that blood on your face? Have you been hurt, then?"

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 04:55:28

Etain blanched slightly at the mention of the blood on her face, the image of Harold’s head exploding repeating vividly in her mind. Her fingers wiped at her cheek in vain as the dried blood wouldn’t budge.

“I’m fine father, the blood… it isn’t mine.” She closed her eyes for a moment to try to regain control over the little contents that were now tumbling around in her stomach. When she opened them she looked past her father into his study and for an instant felt a little homesick for familiar surroundings.

“I just need some rest. But these matters ye need to discuss?"

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 05:00:00

"Discuss, yes. That's a rather stiff term. And I hate doing this over the telecom. But I would be severely pushing the terms of your brother's exile to come to Seattle myself - and those terms must be strictly honored if there is to be any hope of his return." There was no question in Etain's mind that, while her father was speaking directly of himself, he was speaking just as pointedly regarding her own presence in the Emerald City.

"At the same time," he continued, "I cannot exactly bring you back here. Or rather, I will not. I will not have my daughter dragged home in chains. So let me begin with an apology. The extradition order was poorly considered, and I have already had it rescinded. As for your sequestration after the recent unpleasantness, that was very much for your own safety. But I can see now that my attentions were too far afield, and more care should have been taken to include you in that decision. I confess I was in a bit of a state at that time, but it does not excuse my behavior. I am sorry."

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 05:00:07

Etain coughed with surprise at her father’s unexpected apology and quickly tried to mask that surprise with a long sip of her water. She leaned her head to one side slightly as she studied her father’s face, taking in his words and contemplating just where this was eventually leading.

“Yer apology is appreciated Father, forgive me if I seem at a loss for words, that just wasn’t what I was expecting to hear from ye tonight. I know yer just looking out for me and believe me, I never meant for any of this to happen like it did… I just…”

She paused, if her father wasn’t going to be demanding her return to the Tir, what was the next move to make. She played her cards carefully.

“Father, believe me I’d never in a thousand lifetimes try to do anything to hurt Conall’s chances of ever coming home. It was just I never had the chance to say a proper goodbye. If only there was a way to let Conall decide if he wanted to see me. To be able to let him make that choice.. Then I could come home, that is if I was still allowed to…”

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 05:00:15

Liam O'Neill's expression became pinched. He opened his mouth and then closed it. He took a moment. When he opened it again, although there was still concern and worry in his voice, it carried a note of exasperated frustration. "Etain, if you would only...please, I am very aware that you have faced a seemingly unbearable series of trials. Never think for a moment that we are unsympathetic to that. But if you would only, for a moment, perhaps take a step back and look at things as they are. I am aware, and proud, that you are capable of immense strength and courage...emotionally...but listen to your own words, and compare them with your actions. You say would would never hurt your brother. But you were there when the Court's decree was pronounced - he is to have no contact with any member of his family. Now, how can you possibly reconcile your words with your actions in this matter? How can you fail to see that your own emotional desires are jeopardizing my chances of ever bringing your brother home, not to mention putting him grave danger of the Seelie Court's wrath - for I warn you, daughter, they will not be mocked."

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 05:00:19

It wasn’t hard to see the familial connection between the man on the screen and the young Elven woman. Their mannerisms were quite similar as Etain too opened her mouth to speak and then paused, her eyes closing with resignation as her father’s words struck a chord inside her. Surely her actions might have been brash and irrational, but there was no way that Lady Brane Deigh would see them as mocking the court, could she? For an instant she was frozen with a dark fear, that perhaps she had put her brother in jeopardy by coming to Seattle…

“And in the end Father, what if he doesn’t wish to come home. What if I no longer wish to come home? What then?”

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 05:00:25

The elder O'Neill's eyes widened - he seemed flabbergasted at his daughter's move to turn the conversational tables on him - and avoid his own tough questions. But he was not off balance for long. "Oh, I assure you, dear, he wants to come home. I know the two of you are," and he paused to pick his expression carefully, "extremely close, but you often make the mistake of thinking you are the only one that knows him, and that you know all there is to him. But there is no doubt in my mind that he wishes to return, and one day take his rightful place at the head of the clan. On the other hand, I will not presume to tell you that you wish the same thing, which is why it is now imperative that I impress upon you the gravity of the choice that now lies before you."

The older elf paused, and sipped from a cup of coffee.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 05:00:33

From behind a cold, tight-lipped smile Etain fumed. Certainly this was her father and by that he had the right to lay down the law before her. However for him to sit there behind a cup of coffee and claim that his knowledge of her brother's desires were superseding to her own made her want to spit. She could likely count on one hand the number of times her father had made the effort to be a part of his children’s lives when there wasn’t a photo opportunity or a social expectation he needed to live up to. And all in the same breath he all but spelled out that her worth to the family had plummeted as of late. She was an expendable resource now if he was thinking in business terms, but his one and only son, his heir was the golden prize he couldn’t afford to lose.

“What choices do I have Father? To come home immediately to a shell of my former life, or not come home at all? Is that the underlying message here?”

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 05:00:55

"I most certainly would not couch it in those terms. Whether coming home would relegate you to a shell of your former life is a choice entirely up to you." He'd been keeping his cool in the face of her provocations, but it was unravelling. "Would your environment here discourage the use of harmful, addictive, and illegal substances? Yes, it most certainly would. Would your social circle here be conspicuously bereft of wanton orgies? I am not a naive man, but yes, I think there would be a shortage of scenes such as this evening, where I am told you were found naked in the amorous embrace of an...ork...woman." His face was now red as he struggled to even say the words - it was impossible to tell which of the two descriptors upset him most. "So yes, if the absence of such pursuits would constitute a mere "shell" of your former, woefully deprived life of hardship and squalor, then I suppose those are your choices."

He paused for a breath, and when he spoke again, he was more calm. "Actually, as harshly as your words juxtapose the choices before you, I am not sure you really do appreciate the polarity of the paths you face. On the one hand, yes, you can return, and I implore you as your father to do so. You will not be confined as in the past - as I said, that was a mistake. Indeed, if you return willingly, then there will be no need of such measures, for you will thereby earn our trust. We will actively support your singing, in whatever style or venue you wish to pursue, and when I say actively support, I mean exactly that. And we will naturally provide any...other help you may decide you need, now or later. Most importantly, you will no longer be endangering your brother.

"And to say endanger is no hyperbole, my dear. First, should you, as an O'Neill, succeed in contacting him, the terms of his exile would be egregiously violated, and he would be remanded to a sentence of death. Second, the Queen foresaw that he had some work to do for good there in Seattle. Daughter, as you have seen so clearly of late, good is never unopposed, and I fear the day will soon come when your brother will need to call upon every iota of his military training to survive. Your talents, Etain, are far different from his - as evidenced by the ease with which Cailleach and his men tracked you. Third, you are not prepared, as we have clearly seen, for the world that you have entered - mere hours in that Saints-forsaken Metroplex and look at the cesspool you mired yourself in.

"Oh Etain, flesh of my flesh, the nobility you displayed before the Seelie Court filled me with indescribable pride. If Saint Patrick himself had told me that fell evening that we would within a mere fortnight be having this conversation under these circumstances, I'd have laughed him to scorn. Think now, daughter, think. Display some of that same excellence now. Awaken to a sense of your prideful self-centeredness, look beyond your own pain, and return home to the arms of your family, that we may work together to secure your brother's safe return to his rights and privileges."

He paused, and clearly did not wish to finish his speech. But he did. "For as I said, the two paths before you are polar opposites. If you will not come home in dignity and honor as an O'Neill, then my only choice will be to make certain that when you find your brother, you are no longer an O'Neill at all. If you choose to run off on your childish and painfully ill-advised quest, the only way I have of safeguarding your brother's life and the chances of his return will be to strip you - now and for all time - of the name O'Neill."

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 05:01:43

If Conall hadn’t been family, hadn’t been her twin, she might have been more instantly willing to “sacrifice” him just to spite her father at that very moment. There was a dangerous fire that was being stoked with anger inside her, heightened and accentuated by the Nova and the way it put everything into hyperdrive.

She was becoming irritable and it was starting to show through her façade she was projecting to her father. Her upper lip twitched as it threatened to shatter the cold smile into an outright sneer. She had tried to remain calm, and reason with only logic and semantics, but it was so foreign of a concept to her when she was used to acting and thinking with her heart first. Coupled with that her highs were fading off slowly, but noticeably the more she had to focus and attempt to think clearly.

“Perhaps it’d be best if I get some rest. I believe Costello and Costigan were right and wise to delay this conversation, at least for a few more hours. Just till me head’s back on straight. I have a lot of thinking to do, no matter the choices laid out before me. I’m not ready to come home yet…”

She paused for a moment, her grip on her glass of ice water loosening until it slipped from her hands and hit the floor with a soft crash. A wave of dizziness washed over her and she was forced to steady herself upon one arm of the plush sofa in the living area of their suite. She could hear her father repeating her name, the concern growing in his voice and she could feel one of the Coz’s next to her to steady her balance as well. She slowly opened her eyes and looked back up at her father on the screen and for an instant felt a mild twinge of sadness and shame for what she had done and would likely continue to do.

“I’m fine Father, just a little dizzy. No matter if I continue searching to find Conall or not, I need to find meself. I’m no longer certain I can do that at home Father. Let me get some rest, Costello and Costigan can remain here with me “on guard” if you wish. Let me do my thinking and soul-searching and by this evening Seattle time, ye shall have yer answer.”

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 05:02:00

The look on her father's face reminded Etain of nothing so much as the expression on her brother's visage when the Seelie Queen had explained that there was a way to avoid his sentence of death. The man nodded his agreement with her as if given a fresh lease on life.

"Good, good. That will be fine. Take whatever time you need. I...no, I have said enough. I look forward to hearing from you, and I do so much hope to see you soon. Now get some rest."

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 05:02:05

With only a final nod she watched as the connection across the world closed and the screen went black for a moment before the brilliant logo of the Warwick replaced the pixels that were once her fathers face. She shivered for a moment before she turned to face the Coz’s and the expression on her face kept them from saying anything, only offering their assistance to get her settled in one of the suites few bedrooms.

Monday 8/11/70 10:27:23

Sleep hadn’t come easy to the young Elf, but she managed to get a little rest under her belt before she just couldn’t lay in bed any longer. The happy floaty feeling from the Bliss she had done just hours before was long gone while the last traces of the Nova still tickled her synapses as she stretched and sat up in bed. She felt an ache in every inch of her body that could only have come from the whirlwind last 24 hours of traveling, clubbing, drugs and emotional roller coaster she’d been on. She would have given anything for a good massage at that very moment, but seeing how she wasn’t about to ask either of the Coz’s for that favour, nor did she know anything about the area or the hotel’s amenities she decided for a long hot shower instead.

As the hot water washed over her, carrying the previous night’s grime and gore down the drain she hummed softly to herself, an old Gaelic tune whose words she had translated into Sperethiel many times over while growing up. She could feel the surge of mana swirl around her and cascade over her as she ran her fingers through her quickly lengthening hair.

Stepping out of the shower, she wrapped herself into one of the hotel’s luxurious fluffy white robes and stepped out into the main living area of the suite. The Coz’s were already awake (did they ever sleep?) and doing the things that the Coz’s did when they had a little time to kill. She watched from her doorway as Costello flipped channels on the TriD and Costigan was taking inventory of their gear and repacking their black duffel bags with extreme skill and efficiency. Sensing her presence they both looked up almost in unison and she could see smiles tug at the corners of their mouths as they saw her standing there, her long auburn hair still damp from the shower, laying against the white robe. It was a step in the right direction perhaps.

“G’morning Mistress, we didn’t know if ye’d be hungry this morning so we waited to order ye anything from room service.”

Her stomach quietly rumbled and she couldn’t remember the last thing she actually ate, let alone when she last had food.

“Perhaps just some fresh fruit and juice for now Costello, please?”

Without hesistation he was on his feet and placing the call to the hotel’s kitchen. Etain smiled gratefully as she made a bee-line with no additional conversation to the terrace outside the patio doors of their suite to await her breakfasts arrival. Stepping out onto the balcony she quickly shut the doors behind her, getting her first real glimpse of Seattle in the day’s light. While the clouds held fast to the skies and trapped in the beginnings of what would likely become heavy smog the city that stretched out below her had a lifepulse of its own. People moved about their daily lives without cares, grabbing cups of coffee on their breaks from work, shopping and building the economy. In the distance she could see the majestic rise of Mt. Rainier. While it couldn’t hold a candle to the lush beauty of the Tir, the city fascinated her like no other. Her caramel coloured eyes moved slowly across everything in her field of vision.

Somewhere down there dear brother there ye are. I’d give anything to hear yer voice right now, to get a piece of your big brotherly advice about all of this. I need to know what to do next. It seems so foolish to throw everything away, but yet so easy to make that decision… please I have to find ye.

Knowing she was alone up here above it all with only a long afternoon of soul searching ahead of her it felt daunting, but she turned to the one thing that always calmed her soul. Her voice. She moved up to the edge of the balcony and glanced back over her shoulder to see Costigan keeping a close and watchful eye upon her. She knew that they wouldn’t be able to hear her from behind the soundproofed glass and so she began to sing, tentatively at first before pouring her heart and soul into each and every note, not caring who might overhear.

I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you
but who can decide what they dream?
and dream I do...

I believe in you
I'll give up everything just to find you
I have to be with you to live to breathe
you're taking over me

have you forgotten all I know
and all we had?
you saw me mourning my love for you
and touched my hand
I knew you loved me then

I believe in you
I'll give up everything just to find you
I have to be with you to live to breathe
you're taking over me

I look in the mirror and see your face
if I look deep enough
so many things inside that are just like you are taking over

I believe in you
I'll give up everything just to find you
I have to be with you to live to breathe
you're taking over me

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 10:58:03

When she had gotten too close to the balcony’s edge for Costigan’s comfort, he was quickly out the patio door and by her side, guiding her back into the room and sitting her down before an elegantly appointed table filled with food. The fruit and the juice that the hotel had delivered were nothing short of delicious. She was ravenous and while the amount was more than plentiful, she did her best to make it disappear. She was beyond full, but there was something still missing. The subtle nagging of a nebulous craving plagued her. She licked her lips as she got lost in the fond recent memory of the rush she got from the Bliss and BlueEyes’ lips. She closed her eyes as she relived various moments, a subtle blush creeping up her neck to reach her cheeks as a few of the more intense memories lingered.

Feeling the gaze of one of her guards lingering on her she turned her thoughts to a more innocent nature and decided to take up residence on the couch, flipping through the channels to see what passed for entertainment here in Seattle. Most of it was similar fare to what she could watch back home, only the names and the locations were different, the plotlines quite similar. She got her first taste of Urban Brawl competition which left a less than pleasant taste in her mouth. She settled on a show called Entertainment in the Moment which was your typical sleazy paperazzi’s wet dream gossip show. She could hear the Coz’s guffaw and chide in the background, but at least it kept them from trying to attempt uncomfortable small talk with her.

As much as she tried to take a break from the things that were weighing on her shoulders by losing herself in fluffy TriDeo shows, she kept coming back to her father’s words from earlier that morning.

The only way I have of safeguarding your brother's life and the chances of his return will be to strip you - now and for all time - of the name O'Neill.

She knew those words from her father’s lips were far from an idle threat. If she carried out her desires to find her brother he would see to it that she would never be an O’Neill again. Where her brother had a chance, or so they believed, to be restored to full title and honour, she would not be given a second chance. The more she thought on the subject the more her mood darkened, she could feel the high of the Nova slipping away from her as the seconds ticked by. Tiny things began to aggravate her. The way the tie to her robe wouldn’t stay knotted properly. The sounds of Costigan’s shoes on the floor and the way they squeaked when he walked. The fact that her father was convinced she couldn’t make it on her own without his help. The fact that the temperature inside the suite seemed to be climbing. The fact that she hadn’t seen her brother in over a week. The way her heart ached. The fact that she didn’t have a way to get another high. The fact that she had traded one confinement for another and only the scenery had changed.

She needed a drink.

Etain got up off the couch and started towards the in-room “mini” bar that was lavishly set up with exotic alcohols from many locales and decorative crystal glasses and silver ice buckets. She ignored all that and went searching for one particular bottle. When she found it tucked back behind the rarer items, the familiar black label actually made her smile. She quickly poured three fingers full over a few cubes of ice and had the glass to her lips and the first sip slid down her throat as Costello began his protest.

“Mistress! I don’t think that’s the wisest thing ye should be doing right about now. Come child, lets get ye something better for yer system.”

Etain simply held up her hand to both stop his advances and to momentarily silence him. When that didn’t work she placed a finger up against her lips as she looked through him before she downed the remaining portion of the glass with a satisfied sigh and began to pour another.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 10:58:03

When Costello had decided to physically take the bottle from Etain it began the downward spiral that took place in the hotel room for hours to come. She threw nothing short of a tantrum before the two men, one worthy of a two-year old minus the kicking on the floor. Her normally eloquent speech had disappeared leaving behind a string of curses and vile slang that was worthy of an Irish longshoreman more than a daughter of the Daanan. When she tried to leave the hotel room they physically kept her from leaving which only maddened her more. The volume of her voice rose as she spotted her commlink near all of Costigan’s gear on the table. The anger and the fight poured out of her for a good 45 minutes before she finally had exhausted herself to the point of collapse.

Leaning back against the wall, she had slid down it till she sat breathing heavily on the floor, glaring at the Coz’s. When Costigan initially tried to pick her up to put her back in bed she resisted and tried to pull away from him before he tightened his grip on her and picked her up, much like he would a young child and put her to bed soundly with the promise if she couldn’t sleep on her own, they’d see to it that she would get the rest she needed one way or another now that the drugs were out of her system.

She laid in bed and the blanket of sleep came in short waves which always left her staring at the ceiling drifting off with different thoughts each time. Wondering what Conall was doing that very instant possibly just miles away from her. Longing for one of Philippe’s luxurious breakfasts with all of her favourites. Wondering how she’d be able to get away from the Coz’s and how she’d get another taste of Bliss that she was convinced she needed so desperately. When she managed to get some real rest her dreams flashed vignettes that seemed to push her in a direction, to help her make her decision.

Dreams of back home in the Tir, only nothing was as vibrant and full of life as she remembered it. All the colours were muted, the lush greenery replaced with barren patches of vegetation and trees that were nothing but branches. The moon didn’t shine and in the distance a pack of wolves whined. A flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder shifted the location of her dream to an unknown one. The feeling of fear and dread and adrenaline was tangible and in bed she trembled. The only portion of the image that was familiar was the visage of her brother standing in the rain. Conall stood out, bright and shining while surrounded by darkness. Behind him she could barely make out the appearance of additional people, one maybe two more huddled in the shadows in fear. Conall stood at the forefront, holding his ground like the stubborn fighter he was, but from her view she could see he was outnumbered and in mortal danger. They weren’t surrounded by a random pack of street thugs looking for quick nuyen. They were surrounded by pure evil, the dead that came back to walk the earth. She screamed a warning to her brother, but it just caused him to look up to give the shedim their opening of opportunity. In an instant they all descended on him, knowing Conall was the true threat. While he attempted to fight valiantly the sheer number of them was overwhelming and she watched as the battle became more and more brutal and less and less in her brother’s favour. Overhead the moonlight dimmed…

She sat straight up in bed as stiff as a board the clearest of thoughts in her mind.

I’m staying. He’s in danger, he’ll need my help.

Monday 8/11/70 19:27:31

When she had stopped trembling from her nightmare, she forced herself out of bed and paced the bedroom for minutes as she tried to regain her breath. She rung her hands in nervousness as she looked around the room and her eyes rested upon her bag of things and the cascade of it’s contents across the floor. She quickly busied herself with repacking everything into the bag with a precision that would have made the Coz’s proud. She couldn’t afford to delay any longer, something terrible could happen to her brother and she wasn’t about to let it happen if there was anything she could do to stop it.

After she got properly dressed, she brushed her hair back into a tight ponytail as she thought through the words she was about to say. She tried to prepare herself because she knew once she saw his face it could shatter her resolve if she wasn’t careful. A few deep breaths and one last look in the mirror later she left her bag just inside the room’s door and quietly stepped out into the hall to face her future and all the unknowns it contained.

Neither Coz seemed surprised to see her enter the living room area of the suite as if they had their eyes on her the entire time. She didn’t let that stop her for a moment as she didn’t care if they knew what was coming next or not. She had her own good to do here, perhaps in time they’d all see that she wasn’t so foolish after all.

“Gentlemen, I’d like to call me Father please, if ye’d put the call through.”

As Costello fiddled with the telecom unit it wasn’t long before her father’s face filled the wall-unit again. He looked like he hadn’t slept well and she was certain she was the cause of that sleeplessness and worry. For a moment her strength wavered as guilt threatened to flood into her mind and take over what she knew in her heart she needed to do. She averted her eyes for a moment, drew a deep breath to center herself and then looked her father in the eyes.

“Hello Father.”

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 19:27:40

The elder O'Neill did not appear to have slept, or even to have moved from behind his desk. When he saw his daughter his face lit up with hope quickly hidden - no, not hidden, Etain could see - but repressed, as though he feared to let himself even contemplate what the next few minutes might mean for his happiness and, more importantly, that of his family.

It was a face Etain had never seen on her father.

"Etain, I trust you have had some chance to rest? I have called for your mother, and she...ah, here she is."

Caitriona O'Neill padded into the room and stood behind her husband, bags under her eyes.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 19:28:07

A knot formed in her stomach as her father’s visage appeared on the large screen before her which only intensified as her mother appeared, ever dutiful, behind him mere moments later. Screwing up her courage once more she let an only semi-genuine soft smile touch her lips as she swallowed hard behind it. She couldn’t let their appearance and her concern for them get the better of her, she had to stay within the argument she had practiced many times over in her head, to keep her cool amidst what was about to become an explosive situation.

“Mother.”

She nodded a slight hello and definite acknowledgement to her mother as she her eyes joined her father’s upon their daughter. It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe as the nervousness threatened to overtake Etain. She had seen the brief look of hope that touched her father’s face the moment the call was connected, and it broke her heart to know that she was going to rip that hope away from him in just mere moments. She could feel everyone’s eyes upon her, her parents as well as the Coz’s though the latter were more than likely just doing their job, she quietly cursed that she couldn’t have more privacy to go through this. Then again amidst her father’s trusted staff there was likely no true secrets held where Etain was concerned, they knew it all.

She felt like she was about to go on stage, all the nervousness and the butterflies that came with it. Once that thought entered her mind it was like a moment of clarity, of meditation in an instant. Once on stage she was always ever-confidant, if she could just treat this like a performance…

“I’m glad ye both are there, as I’m sure Mother should hear this conversation too. I…,” She paused, the words not coming as easily when she had to look them in the eyes as they did when she just imagined their faces.

“I’ve come t’a decision about me being here in Seattle, about what comes next for me, for all of us.”

She wasn’t trying to be overly dramatic with her pauses, she just was careful with her choice of words. The tension in the hotel room became palpable, she was balanced on a thin line and it would mean falling to one side or another no matter what. She was acutely aware of every sound and movement inside the living room, the way Costello’s shoes squeaked against the floor as he shifted his weight slightly, the way Costigan moved his head to not directly look at his charge and give her a little “privacy” while being prepared for anything, the hum of the bar’s refrigeration unit. Before her parent’s could jump into the conversation she continued.

“I’ve decided that… that… I can’t come home. There are so very many reasons why, and I am not choosing this path for meself without having given it a right bit of thought…”

She looked down from their eyes and tried to steel herself against the protests of her parents that she expected to come. She didn’t want to see the initial shock followed by their extreme disappointment flash across their features.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 19:28:30


Her mother spoke.

"Etain, if you need time to sort things out, that is perfectly understandable. You have the whole world before you and our blessing. A safari on the Serenghetti. The canals of Venice. An Antarctic or even a Lunar retreat. My dear, sip coffee in Prague, or slurp noodles in Hong Kong. Hike the Himalayas - wherever you need to be to sort things out, and for as long as you want...Just...NOT in Seattle. Anywhere in the world but Seattle - the one place on earth where your very presence is a dire threat to your dear brother's life."

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 19:27:39

Her mother’s words were well chosen enough to cause her pause for Etain was indulgent as she was willful. Truly, sipping café au lait by the Seine in Paris at dusk and being able to watch the sunrise in New York sounded divine right then and there, but there were more important things she had to take care of and foremost in her mind was how she needed to stay here and insure her brother’s safety from whatever it was that could eventually haunt him here in Seattle.

“Mother, while I appreciate yer blessing to do what I need to do to sort meself out, do ye think me foolish enough to believe I’d have the ability to really sort myself out with one or more of Padraig’s men keeping tails on me and “keeping me safe” from whatever is out there that you believe to be a harm to me? Without yer full and complete trust in me and the decisions I make ye put no trust in me at all. Ye speak flowery words of promises and apologies about how ye made rash decisions about the way to protect me back home, and yer actions here with Costello and Costigan leading your charge in to put me back under lock and key… Mother they got a young boy killed.”

A frown marred the otherwise beautiful features of Etain’s face while her eyes stayed, distant, determined and perhaps even a little cold as she continued.

“Seattle is a city of millions, of which I am only one. Even if I were to attempt to find Conall my chances would be slim to none without help, and I already know there is to be no help from any of ye back home. Just being here, knowing he’s somewhere out there has brought me more peace than I have felt since he was sent away. Perhaps it’s the catalyst that I need for my own healing even if he’s never to be at my side again to help me through this all. Ye seem to forget ye never even gave us that chance to talk about what had happened, ye both stole that chance to heal, for some type of closure, from me.”

Her lip trembled, and it was hard to tell if she was on the verge of tears, or on the verge of anger. Either way she was fighting hard to quell the storm of emotions brewing inside of her.

“Father, I have no doubts that ye have been a man of your word and that by making this decision I may right have left ye no choice in what’s to come but ye see that’s the beauty of this. I am making the choice, the only real one that is left for me. No one is forcing me into something this time.”

She drew a trembling and shaking breath as she tried to convince herself of the words she spoke as much as she tried to convince her parents. Words from her father’s previous conversation tickled at the back of her mind, how none of them believed she could do this on her own, even if it was so ill advised. She was tired of being treated like a porcelain doll, she had to prove to them as much as herself that she was stronger than anyone possibly knew.

I will show you all.

She felt a sudden moment of clarity, the nanosecond where everything seems to fall into place and the only answer to the question became “yes.” It was now or never.

“I shall gather me things tonight and Costello and Costigan will return all of the rest of the items that are rightfully mine and I will walk out that door to find meself somewhere on the other side. It may mean I stay here in Seattle, it may mean I end up in Ulster. I just know when my journey ends I will be whole. I will be me. I have no doubts the two of ye will do whatever ye feel is necessary to insure your first son’s safety, even if it means sacrificing yer daughter. If I walk out that door, no longer an O’Neill be certain that I will not come crawling back, begging for forgiveness or wanting ye to know anything more about me from that point on. I am more than a name.”

If she could keep her brother alive long enough to let him be able to return home, to lead the clan if he so desired, perhaps then there was also an opportunity for him to reinstate her name…if it was ever important to her again.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 19:27:50

As Etain spoke, she could see her father's corporate-executive eyes formulating withering responses to each of her points in turn - and while she was resolved upon her course, knowing deep in her heart that it was true, she dreaded his verbal counterattack, well aware she could not match him in a battle of words and reason. She steeled herself to stay the course...

But when she finished saying her piece, it was her mother that spike first. The woman seemed to sway, and caught herself from falling, one had gripping the edge of the desk, the other on her husband's shoulder. "Oh no, my most treasured one, listen to your..."

But she was silenced by Liam O'Neill's hand gripping her own. Speaking to his wife, but eyes locked from half the world away upon his daughter's, he said, "She has heard all she will hear."

A pain-wracked sob escaped her mother's throat, and it seemed the woman would split in two, so strong were her warring desires to flee from the room and to linger for a few last seconds of her daughter's face.

The man named Liam spoke - "I love you." And then the Elder of Clan O'Neill spoke - "Etain O'Neill, from this moment forward, you are simply Etain."

A tear rolled down the man's cheek as his wife collapsed to her knees behind him.

On the screen, his image was replaced by a menu of hotel services.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 19:29:51

She stood before the telecom wall in silence, her mouth had opened to speak one last “I love ye too” but it would go unsaid forever now as the words would be wasted on the menu of hotel services or on the Coz’s ears. She closed her eyes, trapping the tears that were fighting to fall, behind her long lashes. Her body wavered for a moment before she steadied herself again.

What have I done!?!

She opened her eyes to see the screen of menu services staring back at her, however the images of her parents torment would haunt her forever. Her hands came to her lips in perfect peaks, her thumbs beneath her chin as her mind reeled. She was lost in a myriad of thoughts and fears when Costigan snapped her back to reality with a soft, deliberate cough. She turned to face the Coz’s and saw the same disappointment coupled with sadness that she had seen in her parent’s eyes, only to a lesser degree. There was no doubt to her now that they genuinely cared about their charge.

Yer strong enough to do this, to help Conall. Ye had to do this.

The more she tried to reassure herself, the less confident she felt. She did put on a fabulous and almost believable show for the Coz’s however. She looked determined and confident, at least on the surface and perhaps with time it would sink into her soul.

“I won’t keep ye here any longer than ye need to be, I’m sure the two of ye would like to get back hom...to yer home. So if we can make this as painless as possible and ye’d be so polite as to hand over me things, the sooner I’ll be out of your hair and less of a continued burden on ye.”

She crossed the room to the table close to where the Coz’s sat and waited for them to return her things, especially her commlink that they had lifted off her while she had slept.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 19:31:00

Costigan silently crossed the room to his duffel, from which her removed a number of Etain's things - she saw him carefully lay out her certified credsticks. Last came her commlink. He opened the back, and with practiced ease slid out a chip, replacing it with another. Then he hefted his bag, nodded to Costello, and headed for the door.

Before leaving, Costigan turned. "Take care, Mistress. This is a secure part of town, and yer PAN has been stripped of any identifyin' AROs. Yer commlink will not work fer communications until ye manage to establish a relationship with a new server....The room's paid till mornin'."

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 19:41:16

It was all Etain could do to nod her acceptance at Costigan’s comments. She had no intention to stay in the room another moment beyond what was absolutely necessary to finish packing her things and walk out the door. As she watched the two black-clad men leave the hotel room without so much as another word or glance backwards to her, her eyes moved around the room and all it’s appointed details. Where most people would have sold their siblings to live like this, now it just turned her stomach to be surrounded by the trappings of luxury and overindulgence.

As she made her way back to the bedroom where her one bag was she was almost surprised by the efficiency that Costigan stripped her com, even more so that he had come here prepared to do so. It only reassured her that she was making the right decision, one that her father must have known all along that she would make.
Shaking the thoughts from her mind she pulled everything out of her bag, taking a quick inventory of what she had left with her and repacked everything, careful to insure that the credsticks were kept safe and secure. She pulled a familiar jacket from the top of the bag and slipped her arms into it, hefting her bag over one shoulder. The jacket wrapped her in a familiar smell of what was no longer home and it was oddly comforting that she was walking away from it all. She had a lot to do and she couldn't afford the luxury of wasting the night away inside the hotel room. She needed to find Tuesday and she figured she had the best chance to do so at night.

With one last look around the hotel room, she made one last stop at the in room bar, tucking a few prized bottles into the top of her bag. Something was telling her she would be needing something to drown her future sorrows in soon enough. She stepped to the door and out into the hall. When the door closed behind her, its soft click of the locks engaging were like the final note of a symphony. A dark finale.

As she walked down the hall she walked away from her former life and with every step she grew one closer to finding Conall.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 21:15:09

By the time Etain had hit the lobby of the Warwick hotel a soft rain had begun to fall on the city in a vain attempt to wash away the dirt and grime with an acid bath. She clutched her bag tighter to her as she stepped out onto the street, taking shelter from the wetness under the hotel’s canopy that extended to the street. With a polite valet’s help she hailed a cab. Once she was settled inside, the driver expectantly awaiting a destination, she chewed on her lip for a moment before giving him a vague direction.

“Need a place to stay, something below the status of the Warwick, if ye get my meaning.”

If it wasn’t clear enough she held up a certified credstick and that seemed to spur the driver into action. With a smile that was more akin to a leer in the mirror, the driver pulled away from the curb and started off to his destination of choice. As she settled into the backseat she leaned her head against the window of the cab and watched the scenery speed by her, growing less and less appealing the longer the cabbie drove.

When he reached the destination Etain had to swallow hard at the thought of staying in one of the rooms contained inside the run-down motel. For an instant she almost regretted giving up one last night of luxury and sleeping on 500 thread cotton sheets for what was likely to be a lumpy mattress and a draft. She transferred the taxi fare to the cabbie as she exited and made her way quickly up to the lobby of the motel and stood before the clerk’s desk.

Seeing no one there at first and no automated system to obtain a key for any period of time she waited and idly found herself drumming her fingernails against the plexi countertop. Her rhythm unearthed a body from the back that had to be one of the most revolting metahuman beings she had ever laid eyes on. The Ork woman (she thought it was a woman at least) was dressed in a gaudy print dress that was about 3 sizes too small for her bulky frame and stained from days of unwashing. Her scent was overpowering and made Etain gag a little into her mouth, the scent of sweat and other odors had been doused in cheap perfume in a vain attempt to forgo taking a shower one more day. She quickly wanted to turn on her heel and walk out the door, but her options were limited.

“I’m lookin’ for a place to crash love, couple of days at the least. Can ye help me out?”

The Ork woman looked at Etain like attractive Elven women walked into her motel on a regular basis. Who knows, perhaps they did as they were passing through or running away from home. Before it spoke, it bellowed a grunt and looked Etain over again with different eyes.

“Y’got cred girlie? I don’t need no trouble around here. I get trouble and you’re out on your ass, got it?”

The woman was gruff but to the point and Etain had no intention of bringing trouble back to her room for any reason. Now that she wasn’t on the run from anyone she didn’t see any reason anyone would be calling on her.

“I’ve got cred.” She flashed the top of a credstick to the woman from inside a pocket of her jacket. “I just need a couple of nights, I’ll pay in advance.”

Pay in advance seemed to be the magic words for the Ork woman and her demeanor changed slightly as she prepared a cardkey for Etain’s stay. “Room 32, end of the building.” She was far too willing to take the money from Etain’s credstick and then handed over the key. “You’re paid through this time Thursday night, you don’t check out and anything left in the room becomes property of the motel. Understood? And no trouble!!” She shook a fist at Etain one last time before she waddled back behind a cheap piece of fabric underneath a sign that read “Private” leaving Etain to go down to the room.

As she made the walk down the front of the motel she could overhear the activities going on in the few rooms that were rented out. Trying to block out the squeaks and the moans she quickened her pace until she stood before the door. She took a deep breath as she inserted the keycard into the lock and when the LED blinked green she exhaled and pushed the door open. The lights flickered on slowly as she entered the room and there wasn’t much to see once she entered. A dingyness lingered in the room both on the surfaces and as a scent in the air. A bed, a bedside table with a lamp, a ancient Trideo unit that seemed to only get about 5 channels, a closet and a door to which she assumed led to the bathroom rounded out the stellar accommodations.

With a heavy sigh laden with a healthy amount of disgust she dropped her bag onto the floor near the nightstand and sat down on the edge of the bed. She figured she could spare herself a few moments before she got ready and headed back out for the beginning of what would be a tireless search.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 22:55:41

After zoning out a bit to the news and all of its bleakness, Etain decided that she needed to get moving, to get out of this shithole of a motel room and back out into the Seattle night. She couldn’t exactly hit the clubs looking like she did that moment so she needed to make some changes. She set to work pulling out various items of clothing, mixing and matching more for the size than the look, the look she could manage with a little touch of magic. She pulled out a small bag of make up and beneath the dingy light in the bathroom and a filthy mirror she put on her face. Once she was dressed she tested the waters of casting within her room. While the mana was anything but clean compared to the Tir, there was certainly more than enough for her to draw from.

Satisfied with her changes in appearance, she gave her now long ebony locks that were streaked with pale blue and silver a shake and corrected a smudge of lipstick from the corner of her mouth. Her clothes would now help her to fit in, whether it was to hit the goth clubs or be mistaken for a streetwalker, only time would tell. From the fishnet stockings, to the black velvet shorts, from the high heeled platform shoes to the black military tail-coat she looked like she was ready for anything.

Packing all the things she didn’t use back into her bag she had one last task to complete before she could comfortably leave the room for the night. Drawing more mana around her she called forth a most nasty beast spirit to watch over her things, with direct orders to harm anyone else that tried to touch her bag and the contents within. Locking the door behind her and pocketing the cardkey she made her way back towards the front of the motel.

When she stopped by the font desk the Ork woman was gone and in her place was a skinny young kid in a stained wifebeater and a leer that would have made his child-molesting father proud. When she inquired if he knew any good clubs to hit up he took one look at the way she was dressed and immediately proclaimed “Dante’s Inferno, if you need a date or a tour guide I’m sure Steve-o would watch the desk for me.” She was polite enough in her rebuke but made a quick exit to catch a ride to the club.

Standing outside Dante’s Inferno downtown she casually started enquiring along the way if people knew of Tuesday and if anyone had seen her lately. As the line snaked back and forth a young kid kept his eyes on Etain from a short distance away. She continued asking around here and there amidst small-talk and while some people knew of her, no one seemed to know if she’d be here tonight. Etain dropped her new name, Nyx, on a few ears and when she finally mentioned to a couple who said they knew Tuesday that she was trying to get in touch with her after the latest Lockvox the kid who had been watching her finally made a move. He cut backwards in line and was soon standing beside her much to the huffs and sighs of those around them. Once beside her he barely paid her any attention, but he spoke quietly enough for just her to hear.

“She’s not inside, save yourself the cover.” He paused long enough to light up a smoke of his auto-igniter on the pack before continuing. “She dropped your name by the way. Might want to head over to Zer0 tonight and catch her there.”

Before she could say thanks the kid had slipped away and lost himself further up the line of people going into Dante’s. She chewed on her lip for a moment, smudging the deep red berry colour. With a swish of her tailcoat behind her she quickly ducked the line and was back on the streets attempting to figure out the best way to get to Zer0 without the hassle of not having her commlink up and running. It had been disconcerting to be without the familiarity of ARO’s and constant contact to data without her comm, or more importantly without an identity. That was one more thing she’d have to try to figure out how to manage, but she honestly had no idea where to even begin that path, so it would have to wait.

She had started to walk away from the line of the club when she stopped a couple of people who looked like they were headed out for the night and politely inquired about how to find the club Tuesday was most likely at. Thankfully they were rather helpful when she mentioned she was from out of town and a little lost. It was but another short cab ride across the entertainment district of downtown and into the fringes before she pulled up before her destination.

Stepping out of the cab she had a flashback to the past night’s Lockvox. The building was non-descript without augmented reality, undoubtedly all its flash and circumstance was there as opposed to in the open. The only giveaway of what was inside the building was the line of teens and young adults who were outrageously dressed and all clamoring to get inside. The line snaked around the building and around the corner and Etain estimated it would be a long night if she had to wait through all of that just to see if she could get inside and if Tuesday was even there.

Etain
Monday 8/11/70 23:01:22

The longer she stood outside the club and out of the line, the longer it grew and the more aware of how scantily dressed she really was. A cool breeze was starting to blow along the crowded street, filled with partygoers and club kids galore. As she watched the line slowly move and a few people being let in every so often with more people being turned away she caught sight of a much shorter line behind the proverbial velvet ropes. She decided that had to be a VIP line of sorts and that was going to have to be her way in.

As she crossed the street and got into the VIP line she casually listened in on the conversations of the few people before her and the bouncers and picked up the gist of how things worked here at Zer0. People either seemed to have a code in their commlinks that granted them almost instant access past the rather large bouncers or they claimed to be on a “list” of some sorts. The guy just ahead of her was a complete bullshit artist and the two Trolls weren’t having any of it. She knew she was going to have to do better than that to get in. As they tossed the guy from the line she stepped up and tilted her head just so, that way that seemed to get her anything she wanted from those of the opposite sex. The outfit would likely work to her advantage as well.

“Ello loves, think ye might be able to find my name on that list?”

She raised her brow and smiled softly, timing a sideways glance to the other bouncer at just the right moment. They both looked her over and obviously approved of her “look” but it was going to take more than just a wink and a smile to get in. Time to name drop.

“I’m a friend of Tuesday’s? Her girl Nyx from overseas?”

Carefully she reached inside the lapels of her waistcoat and drew out her certified cred and flashed a little glimpse of creamy skin and pale blue lace. Either the name or the cheap thrill seemed to get some recognition from one of the Trolls and he nodded slightly as the other started to draw back the black velvet rope to allow her inside. The other Troll held out his hand and she watched as she placed her credstick into it that her balance dropped instantly by 50.

“You’ll find your friend upstairs to the left of the bar. Have a good time.” He didn’t smile, but he wasn’t completely autotomotron like either. She didn’t waste any time stepping through the ropes and through the doors inside. Inside the club was a different experience, everything was variations of white and chrome. The only colours visible were the people themselves and the drinks at the bar. Etain climbed the stairs to her right to the upper lounge area and she was struck with the similarity it had to the Lockvox the other night.

Only this time no one is coming to “rescue” me.

Tuesday and her entourage wasn’t hard to spot once she hit the bar area. The population up here was much more selected and refined than the mass of bodies on the dance floor below. The thumping bass vibrated through the floors and into her very core. She paused just on the threshold of the corner that Tuesday had claimed, she didn’t see Elaine anywhere, but she did spot Lawrence and a few other familiar faces she remembered from the party. She was mildly distracted by her relief that they had escaped jail and were actually here and she wasn’t going to have to scour the city for them. Her relief was interrupted by a piercing cry of surprise that carried over the bass-heavy music.

“NYXIE HONEY!?!”

Almost instantly she was descended upon by the purple haired girl and embraced in a tight hug and a more than friendly kiss on the lips. It was immediately obvious that Tuesday had been hitting the nova as she was speaking a mile a minute and had that wild look in her eyes.

“Oh my god sis! We were crazy worried for you, Daddy’s people couldn’t find any record of you and I was so scared! Dylan is going to freak when he sees you! He’s been moping about since last night. I love your hair. C’mon over, we’re just getting the party started. You are ok right?”

Etain let herself be dragged over to the small growing group of friends as she tried to process all the chatter that Tuesday was spewing, introducing her to new faces and still going on about the whole excitement of the party being busted up and getting out and being here. Meanwhile she was just trying to figure out just who Dylan was. Tuesday quickly disappeared for a moment, returning a few later with drinks in hand. Some fruity-smelling, frothy bright green concoction she swore Etain would love.

They sat beside one another, catching up over what had happened in the last 24 hours with no real mention of what happened to Harold, and upon hearing Etain’s embarrassed admission that her father had basically disowned her upon finding out about the party and the drugs, Tuesday insisted that she come stay with her at her house while her father was away and she wasn’t about to take no for an answer.

When Etain finally relented and stopped protesting a pair of warm rough hands covered her eyes from behind and she jumped beneath them. Teasing laughter from the gathered group filled her ears for an instant before it was replaced with a rush of warm breath and a whispered “Guess who?” and the pair of lips moved to the hollow of her neck just beneath her ear causing her to shiver with delight. Her fingers pried the pair of hands away from her face as she turned slightly to see BlueEyes himself with a coy smile on his lips.

“I told you Dylan’d be happy to see you Nyxie.”

Club Zer0
Monday 8/11/70 23:25:22

While the club wasn’t as secure as the lockdown appeared to be, the drug use wasn’t as openly flaunted as hundreds of kids with pillboxes, but Tuesday and her friends did very little to hide it from the eyes upstairs. Then again no cops showed up, no bouncers came to ask them to leave or throw them out. It just seemed accepted and forgotten as quickly as it happened. At least once since she had arrived, Etain had seen Tuesday snort some nova from a vial hung around her neck in a piece of jewelry. She had been offered some as well but had managed to decline. When Dylan had started talking about doing bliss however, everything changed. She could feel that desire stir deep inside of her, that want, that need, those feelings that weren’t completely tied to the drug itself but memories of the night before…

It didn’t take much convincing or arm twisting this time to gain her consent, only Dylan pulling her aside as he whispered “Share this with me?” into her ear in such a way that she thought her knees would melt. Huddled next to one another in a corner of the upstairs area and under Tuesday’s approving gaze Dylan used his finger to trace Etain’s lips in shimmering white. A deep kiss that literally took her breath away and she was propelled into the first teasingly soft waves of her high. This one much more subtle than the night before as Dylan got the benefit of the majority of the bliss rush.

Throughout the night Dylan kept her close to him, always in some type of contact with some part of her body much to the chagrin of Tuesday who also tried to keep Etain in close proximity. There was a sense of sexual tension surrounding Etain, or more that she seemed to be caught in the middle. There was something powerful to her being the object of someone’s desire, the heady feeling multiplied with the assumption that both Dylan and Tuesday were interested in her. It was all new territory for her but she was going to make the most of it.

Tuesday 8/12/70 01:55:02

Hours had flown by, lost in drinks, laughter, dancing, kissing, touching and a blissful haze that coated it all. As the party was starting to wind down amidst the group of friends, Tuesday suggested that they head over to her place since her father was away again and she could use the company. Promises of a much better party than at the club convinced the majority of the group to agree to head over to Tuesday’s place. She reminded Etain that she was going to be her guest for as long as she wanted to stay with her. When Etain mentioned that she could stand to get her things from that crappy motel room Dylan was far too quick to pipe up and offer her a ride. Of course Tuesday had to invite herself along and just told everyone to show up at her place a bit later.

Tuesday’s Place
Tuesday 8/12/70 02:42:37

It was almost an hour later when the trio arrived back at Tuesday’s house. Etain was a little surprised to see many of the people from the club already inside her home and living it up. Perhaps most surprising was the familiar Ork woman seated on the couches in the living room watching some graphic horror flick on the TriD. Before her on the coffee table were a number of “samples” of her best product that the guests were far too willing to indulge in as they went about their business around the house. When Elaine was aware of their arrival, she eyed Etain with a mix of contempt and amusement as she snaked her arm around Tuesday’s waist and pulled her into a rough kiss just before her. It was a crude attempt at a display of dominance, but Etain quietly wondered with a smirk if she’d notice the traces of her lipstick that stained Tuesday’s cherubic lips from earlier in the club.

As she shifted her bag’s weight on her shoulder she watched Elaine whisper something to Tuesday and it quickly grew into a bit of an argument between the pair. Tuesday turned to Etain and Dylan and suggested that he show her upstairs to one of the guest rooms to settle her things since he was familiar with the house already. He was far too willing and eagerly grabbed her hand and guided her upstairs to one of the many rooms off the large hallway. Once inside he shut the door quietly behind them and wasted no time making his intentions known.

“God, I’ve wanted to get you alone all night.”

She blushed. She couldn’t help it, it wasn’t like she had a lot of experience in situations like this, hell she had none. As if he sensed her nervousness and even her hesitation, he kissed her softly before he started to move her back towards the bed. A little more bliss led to a lot less clothing. Kisses and caresses on bared skin that sent shockwaves of pleasure up her spine.

By the time the duo rejoined the party downstairs, Etain was flushed and glowing and Dylan’s coy smile had returned to his lips. They found Tuesday and Elaine doing nova in the living room with a few of the guests and were invited to join in on the fun. For an instant when Tuesday looked at her, putting together quite easily what had taken place upstairs, Etain was convinced she could see a mix of jealousy and sadness in the girl’s eyes.

Tuesday’s Place
Tuesday 8/12/70 05:50:11

If Tuesday had truly been upset by what had taken place in the upstairs bedroom she didn’t show it past that one moment where she made eye contact with Etain. She was bubbly and inviting all the while she made sure she sat beside her on the sofas. When offered a round of nova, Etain politely passed the first time while she watched Dylan help himself. As the night wore on, more people either left, found things to occupy their time or passed out on the floors all around the house. As dawn threatened to crash their party it was the four die-hards on the couch that seemed to be the only life left in the house.

They had nibbled on various indulgent foods, drank some good liquors, watched a movie and the entire time Etain was the object of affection of both of her paramours, much to her delight. She didn’t resist a long and lingering kiss from Tuesday when Elaine had gotten up for a bit and the sight of the two girls together did nothing to quell the desire that seemed to fuel Dylan. All of the playing around stopped when Elaine returned to the room and sensing something was up the Ork woman started conversation, one that quickly turned to a personal and probing nature of Etain and her background.

She gave a very sanitized version of her life story, leaving in a lot of details about Conall and their bond thinking maybe it might help in getting them to aid her in finding him. The more she talked about her life the more it seemed like a fairy tale, or some soap opera on the TriD. Of course it did lead into an opening to probe Elaine and her possible connections that went beyond the drugs.

“So because of the party me father cut me off, disowned me I guess ye’d say. See me? Now I’m in Fiddler’s green being here without ID and no invitation to come home. Have to find me an answer or the next time the police decide to break up a party I’ll find meself in more trouble than I can shake a stick at and I won’t have any friends to spirit me away through the skylights.”

She tried to make light of what had happened at the Lockdown, but the way she said “friends” made it clear they were anything but. She felt Tuesday shift beside her, leaning over to whisper words that were meant for Elaine’s ears only. From the Ork’s expression she didn’t seem pleased with whatever it was that was said, but Tuesday wouldn’t give in.

“Elaine knows people. She could probably help you out of that sticky situation, right hon?”

Elaine looked at that moment like she’d rather eat burning coals than help out an Elf, but being a streetwise business woman she knew she could work it out in her favour if she played her cards right. She leaned forward and picked up the small mirror from the table and then looked to Etain before laying out brand new lines of her personal stash. She wasn’t going to do anything till Etain truly committed to their party, just like she did back at the Lockdown. With both Tuesday and Dylan encouraging her and Elaine expecting her she carefully took the mirror and held the straw to her nose and inhaled. Once again the instant rush was exhilarating. She sat back in the couch and closed her eyes, riding the wave to the approving murmurs around her. Before she could enjoy herself too much however Elaine was barking at her in Sperethiel to meet her in the kitchen.

Reluctantly she followed the Ork into the kitchen where the conversation continued in Sperethiel as the pair discussed the parameters of the deal and what it would likely cost and most importantly Elaine wanted to be certain that Etain could front the cash. Negotiations continued or were at least attempted but while she was ever charming, Etain was finding it difficult to concentrate on what she was trying to do through the thrill of the high. Eventually Elaine seemed satisfied with the terms and called her connections to put the pieces in play. They spoke a language Etain couldn’t make heads or tails of past the initial comment of “I’ve got a Keeb, friend of a friend, that’s a blank, needs your help you scan?” that she dropped in English.

When Elaine finished the call and turned her gaze upon her with a self-satisfied smile on her lips she seemed to think that perhaps Etain wouldn’t be willing to pay the final cost. She continued in Sperethiel just to keep their business private.

“You have an appointment later this afternoon. Be back here at 16:30 and I’ll be sure to get you to the church on time. Oh, the final cost for what you want, solid ID with a license?” She paused for dramatic effect, “5700. Plus my cut of 10 percent. Deal?”

Without hesitation Etain nodded.

“Fair enough. How do you want to get paid?”

Elaine almost looked disappointed when the figure didn’t seem to phase the Elf in the slightest, but she held the upper hand, always.

“I’ll get my cut before we head over there, certified funds are fine.” She nodded as if business was concluded and Etain was about to head back towards the couch when Elaine dropped one final demand upon the deal. “Once you have your ID you’ll leave this house. You’ll give my girl a reason that you can’t stay, I don’t care what it is, but you won’t take advantage of her… hospitality after tonight, you scan?”

Etain nodded, a thin razor-blade smile on her lips as she got the message loud and clear. Turning her back on Elaine she made her way over to the couch and after shooting Dylan a look that told him exactly what was on her mind she gave Tuesday a long hug and whispered some rather unladylike thoughts in her ear before she grabbed Dylan’s hand and headed upstairs with him in tow. The two of them keeping each other well-entertained till they ended up passing out from sheer exhaustion and the impending nova crash.

Tuesday 8/12/70 10:13:03

When she woke up to filtered light coming through the windows she was as tangled up in the sheets as she was in Dylan’s limbs. When she tried to untangle herself from him without waking him up, every inch of her body reminded her how sore she was, but it was a good kind of sore. Just as she had finally managed to almost free herself he stirred and rolled away from her finishing the job. She sat up in bed and ran her fingers through her hair and desperately wanted a shower. She could feel the fading effects of the drugs still in her system but right now basic needs were taking over.

She snuck into a bathroom just off the hall and indulging in some of the luxuries that it contained in various bottles and creams she took a long, hot shower. Padding back to the bedroom she snuck back in trying not to wake the good looking sleeping form still in bed. Her attempts at being stealthy failed however and a pair of eyes cracked open and seemed to enjoy the view before them. Fighting off attempts at being pulled back into bed, she gave Dylan a quick kiss and riffled through her bag to pull out clean clothes, something that was quickly becoming a rarity. Forcing herself not to give in to his pleading and puppy dog eyes to come back to bed she blew him a kiss and quietly tiptoed through the house to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and hopefully something to eat.

Moving through the house she could still see various bodies passed out in the locations they crashed in and then she sung softly to herself as she rummaged through cabinets and the fridge till she found what she was looking for. Soon the delicious aroma of premium coffee was wafting through the house and rousing various people from their slumber. Most took the opportunity to head to their respective homes while the others kept sleeping. Soon she was joined by both Tuesday still in her PJs and a freshly-showered Dylan with Elaine nowhere to be seen.

They picked over things in the fridge and talked about anything and everything while Etain lamented about how it felt like it would be near impossible to find her brother. Without going into a lot of detail about why her brother was here and why it would be impossible to “just call him” she asked if they had any ideas about where she could start her search. Outside of mentioning casually the Elven enclave of Tarislar, it was obvious that the pair had very different priorities out of life than her brother.

Before long Dylan was headed out to take care of his own business with promises of seeing Etain later that night which left Tuesday alone with her. They bonded a bit with girl talk which quickly turned to a very personal nature as Tuesday started fishing for details on her and Dylan. She tried to dodge that bullet at first but when Tuesday made it quite clear she heard the two of them, it seemed pointless to try to skirt the issue which only seemed to heighten Tuesday’s interest in Etain.

Tuesday 8/12/70 14:35:03

She was itching to try to make some progress in finding Conall but the whole task seemed daunting and overwhelming to even begin. Convinced she had to do something she asked Tuesday if she’d go with her to just look around Tarislar and see if she could find anything to help find her brother. Of course the girl was FAR too willing to go with her. Soon the two girls were driving around, just on the outskirts of the enclave when she realized it was pointless to stay in the car and convinced Tuesday to park somewhere near by so she could get closer by foot.

Despite her bloodline, her looks and her ability to speak Sperethiel the Elves in Tarislar didn’t seem to take kindly to someone poking around their turf, especially one looking for someone in particular with a human in tow. Most pretended to not hear her or gave her dirty looks when her accent bled through her speech. The Knight Errant presence in the enclave was pronounced as they patrolled the area and helped to keep the outsiders out. Giving up trying to find anyone who would be willing to even give her the time of day she suggested they head back towards the car. Along the way a KE car seemed to follow them back and when the officers inside the car called out over their speaker to “Stop!” Etain’s heart stopped in her chest and she froze in place convinced not having a valid ID was going to cost her for taking this trip.

All at once someone beside the girls took off at a sprint, headed off down the street but the KE officers were obviously expecting something of this reaction and responded accordingly, quickly maneuvering their car to block the runners escape and subduing him while reading him his “rights” as a member of the SINless masses. He was quickly thrown into the back of the car with little care and they sped off. Only then did Etain risk taking a breath and grabbing Tuesday’s hand she hustled back to the car and decided that was enough field-tripping for the day.

Tuesday’s Place
Tuesday 8/12/70 16:25:00

When the girls returned from their adventure it was obvious from Etain’s lack on bubbly conversation that she was frustrated and a little down. Tuesday tried her hardest to cheer her up with light-hearted conversation and a bit of reckless flirting but even that wasn’t having the intended effect. Etain was crashing from the drugs and it coupled with the lack of progress in finding Conall was weighing heavily on her heart.

She didn’t have too much time to dwell on her sadness as Elaine arrived a little before schedule and after giving Tuesday a proper hello she looked Etain over and gruffly said a few words.

“Get your things, we’ve got to go.”

She nodded and quickly headed upstairs to grab her things from the spare bedroom and tossed everything haphazardly into her bag and brought it down with her a few minutes later. Without another word Elaine headed outside and towards her car, a non-descript sedan type, and obviously expected Etain to follow. When Tuesday tried to come with, she put her foot down and flat out told her no way. As Etain climbed into the car and looked at Tuesday through the glass she quietly wondered if this was the smartest thing she’d ever done. They pulled away from the house in relative silence and only when they were well underway did Elaine go over the ground rules for the deal.

A back room of a run down bar called “Mick’s” in the outskirts of Carbonado
Tuesday 8/12/70 19:07:22

They had driven through parts of the city that grew more and more blighted with each kilometer. She had sat quietly watching the city pass by her out the window and the skies seemed to threaten to break open at any given moment and pour down upon them. Moving further and further towards the ghetto, Etain was hardly surprised when they pulled up in front of a run down building that was tucked between larger more decrepit buildings. The windows were coated in grime and etched from acid rain but the vintage flickering neon beer signs were still faintly visible.

When they parked the car and stepped out, it was immediately clear that Etain and her kind were the outsiders of the neighborhood, one predominantly populated with Orks and Latinos. Those that were out on the streets were posturing with all the bravado that young gangers have and leered and sent plenty of degrading Spanish comments in her direction as she trailed behind her Ork escort. Elaine laughed out loud at a few of the comments and looked back over her shoulder to fill Etain in on what she didn’t understand.

“They said that you’d make a fine prostitute in this neighborhood and if you weren’t with me they’d take you into the alley and sample your wares.”

Etain felt every inch of her go ice cold as the words hit home in ways the gangers and Elaine couldn’t even begin to fathom. Her breathing shallowed as she forced herself to keep up with the woman as she strode inside the bar and was greeted by a number of people on her way through the place. Elaine was obviously a regular and she walked with authority towards a door to one side of the old wood bar. She didn’t slow down as she went through it, knowing Etain was right on her heels.

Down a short, dirty hallway stacked with cases of beer on either side they passed through one last doorway and into a room which appeared to be their final destination. On a table before them sat and number of gadgets and electronic devices that were apparently necessary to gain her a worthy fake ID. One of the young kids behind the table gave an approving whistle as Elaine presented her for the various scans. Before they would get started of course they wanted to get paid, and Etain produced the certified cred to cover the costs as Elaine described.

“There’s six there if you’ll do me the honour of hooking it into me comm and have me up and running right quck.”

She pulled out her Ikon from her bag and slid it across the table along with the credstick in hopes they’d accept her offer. She wasn’t in the mood to haggle much and honestly she had no ability to do so, perhaps that was the way Elaine had planned it when she convinced her to do Nova hours ago. She was relieved when they took her commlink and her cred with a nod and motioned her to move over to the first set of biometric scanners. The process was painless really, more tedious than anything else as she moved from one machine to another. Finally they came to an important crossroads for her, choosing a name. She thought for a moment as to what she’d like to be called from now on.

“Ayrin Doyle.”

She stole the true name of an Irish vocalist that she had always admired. It was unlikely that anyone whose circles she would come in contact with anytime soon would either know of her or mistake her for the original. While she was thinking through her choice and reassuring herself that it was a good one, the techies behind the table started to collect their gear as well as her commlink and made a promise they’d have everything ready to go in under two hours and that the women should stay here and entertain themselves while they waited.

Elaine followed the techies out the door and told her to stay put while she got them something to drink. She returned with a couple of bottles of beer and a couple of dirty looking glasses. Given the choice between either whatever was festering on the glass or drinking straight from the bottle Etain chose the bottle. The pair passed the time drinking and of course Elaine wanted her cut before the techies returned with the goods. She obliged by dialing in the agreed upon sum to a credstick and let Elaine make the transfer via her comm.. The rest of the time passed with a lot of uncomfortable silences and Etain wondered if she was out over six grand and her commlink. Elaine worked on “business” via her own commlink while they waited and passed the time.

A little over two hours later, true to their word the techies reentered the back room and one of the kids tossed the commlink back to Etain.

“You’re good as gold Ayrin Doyle. Careful how hard you test it though, it’s never bulletproof. The more “natural” use you give it the more solid it should become. But you’ve got your identity back.” He nodded to Elaine “It’s been a pleasure to do business with you as always E.”

And with that they disappeared and Elaine took a call.

“Yes ’Day, we’re done. Fine I’ll bring her back there.” She shot a dirty look in Etain’s direction before she said anything more. “Tuesday seems to want you to stop by her place tonight, said she’s got something to tell you. We made a deal remember, you break it and I’ll be sure to make that pretty little ID disintegrate faster than you can blink, you scan?”

Without giving her time to reply she headed back out through the bar and into her car before slamming her door closed. The drive back to Tuesday’s was filled with loud and angry music and aggressive driving.

Tuesday’s Place
Tuesday 8/12/70 20:36:51

Somewhere along the way on the drive home Elaine started to get a series of calls that seemed to escalate in importance one right after the other. She tried not to pay attention to the rising tone of anger in the Ork’s voice, but she couldn’t help overhearing words and phrases along the way. Enough to understand she was having a major breakdown in her little distribution ring. The speed of the drive back to Tuesday’s seemed to increase and it wasn’t long before she was being dumped on the sidewalk outside the sprawling home.

“Tell Day I’ll be back soon, it’s business. She’ll understand.”

And with that the car sped off again, tires squealing on the ferrocrete enough to cause at least one person to peek cautiously out their reinforced windows. Shaking her head Etain made her way up the walk, her things in tow yet again and rang the bell waiting for Tuesday to answer. She was quick to let Etain inside and almost relieved to hear that Elaine had been called away on “business.” After a couple of sodas were pulled from the fridge the two girls headed to the all familiar couch to just chill out for a while before plans for the evenings festivities were finalized.

It didn’t take long for Tuesday to realize something was bothering her new friend. She tried her hardest to cheer Etain up, but nothing seemed to help so she resorted to trying to talk it out, delving to the core of what was really bothering Etain. Desperately Etain wanted to open up to Tuesday but she still had a hard time trusting anyone with her deepest emotions, let alone her secrets but some of what was troubling her was as plain as the nose on her face.

“You’re worried about your brother aren’t you?”

Etain had an impossible time holding in her emotions any longer and from behind the tears and shaky drawn breaths she nodded. Tuesday was quick to wrap her up into a tight embrace that seemed to be filled with something more than just concern and comfort. She lightly stroked Etain’s hair and murmured softly until she stopped crying. Tuesday opened herself up to her, telling her about her family and her past. How she lost her mother so young and how she could only imagine what Etain must be going through concerning her brother since she had no siblings.

“Maybe you just need to know someone else cares about you right now.”

The girl’s fingers caressed Etain’s cheek, stopping just under her chin and tilting it up gently before she leaned in and pressed her lips softly against Etain’s. When she didn’t pull away, her hand slipped back into her hair and she deepened the kiss. Etain had started to lose herself in the tenderness of the kiss, even had started to return the kiss with one of her own when she stopped herself suddenly and pulled away from Tuesday awkwardly.

“I’m sorry… I can’t….”

If Tuesday was hurt by being pushed away she didn’t show it, she almost seemed to understand exactly the conflicts going through Etain’s head at that very moment. She smiled softly at the Elven girl as she thought for a moment.

“It’s ok. Look, I know what will help, I’ll be right back.”

Etain watched as the girl got up and left the room. She could hear her upstairs in the bedrooms but before she could overthink just what she could be bringing down Tuesday appeared in the doorway of the livingroom with a small bag in her hand that contained an ever-growing familiar looking powder. Etain licked at her lips subconsciously as Tuesday approached. It was an answer, a way “out” so to speak. A way to quell the worries and the inhibitions that were filling her head. As Tuesday sat down beside her, a moment of hesitation washed over her, enough so that it must have been visible to the girl as she softly cooed.

“I promise hon, I’ll take care of you. I won’t hurt you. You just have to trust in me.”

She didn’t give Etain any time to protest or do anything but go along with what she was proposing. She opened the little bag and dipped her finger in the pure snowy white powder before she brought it up to her own lips and traced the perfect cupid’s bow, turning them a shade of pale pale pink. With the slightest trace of residue on her fingertip she placed it square in the center of Etain’s bottom lip. As she pulled it away slowly she drew Etain’s lips back closer to her own. It wasn’t a difficult thing to do really, Etain couldn’t deny a sense of attraction that she couldn’t explain to her friend, and the Bliss that coated her lips was down right irresistible.

In the end everyone got what they wanted. Etain got her escape and Tuesday got her kiss and the opening she needed for everything else she wanted from the attractive Elf.

Tuesday 8/12/70 20:51:13

This high was different, it was more intense. Perhaps it was the timing of the Nova wearing off and the Bliss taking over, but it was like the first rush she felt at the club all over again and magnified. She was acutely aware of the way her shirt brushed against her skin when she moved. The warmth of Tuesday’s breath across her lips just before she leaned in and stole a kiss. The touch of Tuesday’s hand against her hip as she toyed playfully with the bottom of her t-shirt slowly testing the boundaries as she pushed it up ever further. The feeling of the girl’s weight pressing her further into the couch as she pushed Etain onto her back.

Tuesday was hardly a novice with what she was doing, she knew just where to put her lips against Etain’s skin to illicit a soft moan or a quick gasp. She could see the look of desire, of lust, that was in her friend’s eyes and the Bliss only heightened the sensations for each girl. Etain’s fingers fumbled like an inexperienced teenager’s when she tried to undo the buttons on Tuesday’s shirt. It wasn’t long before Tuesday just pulled at the fabric, the buttons popping this way and that till the fabric came free and teasingly exposed the flesh underneath.

It was like the girls were playing a game of who could top who with each touch, caress and or kiss. Tuesday played the game like a pro, clearly knowing just how far to push Etain to keep the excitement growing and yet not push her into uncomfortable territory. Her fingertips had paused at the button on the top of Etain’s jeans when her commlink cast a familiar shrill ring that cut through the heavy breathing in the room. Tuesday cursed as she could feel as well as Etain could that the moment had been broken. Etain closed her eyes but made no move to redress or cover herself when Tuesday reluctantly got up to silence the commlink by answering it.

Etain caught bits and pieces of the conversation, catching it was Lawrence and she quickly tuned out the casual conversation that Tuesday had that was until her voice rose in pitch and speed.

“Youcan’tbeserious! Oh. My. God. Nyxisgonnafreakout!”

Etain’s eyes snapped open with the mention of her “name” along with feeling Tuesday sit down excitedly beside her.

“It’sLawrencey’know? He said he was hanging out with friends at the club and was over by the bar and he overheard some people talking right?” Tuesday took a deep breath as she paused almost for dramatic effect before the rest of the “secret” came tumbling out of her lips.

“Well apparently they were talking some drek about urban legends and stuff and then one piped up that she had just heard this rumor that there was this reallygoodlookingguywhoshethoughtwasIrishorsomethingandtotallyyounganddidshementionHOT…. Well the rumor was that he could change into a wolf and he’d been seen claiming territory around the Sanctuary of St. Ignatius! I mean what if that was your brother!?! I mean the whole wolf thing, that’s not really true right? But Lawrence said the description kinda sounded like you actually, and you said you guys were twins right?”

Etain sat straight up and grabbed for her shirt, frantically pulling it over her head and jamming her arms through the armholes. She grabbed at Tuesday’s arm and looked her dead in the eyes.

“This place, the church? How far away is it?”

“It’s like 25 maybe 30 minutes from here”

“Can you get me there? Now?”

There was no hiding the urgency in her voice, it had taken on the same timbre as when she was in the middle of the couch with Tuesday moments before but because of an entirely different sense of excitement. It was laced with desperation as well and Tuesday knew if she said no it would positively crush her friend and grabbed her jacket and zipped it up over her bare skin.

“The car’s in the garage, lets go.”

Etain couldn’t move fast enough and cursed herself when she felt like she was going too slow. She haphazardly grabbed her jacket and her bag by the door and had one arm through a sleeve as she threw herself into the passenger seat of Tuesday’s car and the girls sped out into the night.